The main thrust of the work was aimed at testing a number of farming system innovations but attention was also given to social resource constraints. The research was conducted in the Limpopo Province, which is the heartland of smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa, more specifically canal schemes, which were the first type of schemes to be constructed. A survey of all registered smallholder irrigation schemes in the Vhembe District was conducted. The findings confirm the continued relevance of canal irrigation and show that gravity-fed canal schemes are more likely to be operational and to last longer than pumped schemes. The case study of Dzindi provides detailed evidence of a rapidly decaying water distribution system, which is at least partially due to neglect on the part plot holders, who have allowed the collective organisation that was responsible for routine maintenance of the system to collapse. For this reason, establishment of an effective routine maintenance system was identified as a critical condition for the sustainability of canal schemes. The empirical work identified the lack of a comprehensive legal framework that enables plot holder communities to assert their land rights as an important weakness of the current tenure system on smallholder irrigation schemes in Vhembe. The report covers issues of production particularly dealing with irrigation scheduling of Chinese cabbage and green maize. The findings of the project have important implications for the improvement of smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa, as a rural development option. The report contains recommendations derived from the project, with specific reference to policy. These recommendations have a significant bearing on policies such as the National Development Plan 2030 and the Limpopo Department of Agriculture’s RESIS recharge programme, among others. Three guidelines were developed for use by development practitioners.